Apparatus for truing up wheels of tram or like cars.



1 Patented Oct. I, IBM. F. GUTTLER & n. s. KING. APPARATUS FOR TBUING UP WHEELS 0F TBAM 0B LIKE BARS.

(Application filed Mar. 81, 1900.)

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OEEioE.

ISAAC FITOHEXV CUTTLER, OF ST. IIELENS, AND HUGH SEBASTIAN KING, OF SOUTH MOLTON, ENGLAND.

APPARATUS FOR TRUING UP WHEELS OF TRAM OR LIKE CARS.

SPEGIFIGAEIQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 683,554, dated October 1, 1901.

Application filed March 31, 1900. Serial No. 10,974- (No model.)

To [0Z5 whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ISAAC FIroHEw OUT- TLER, residing at St. Helens, in the county of Lancaster, and HUGH SEBASTIAN KING, residing at South Melton, in the county of Devon, England, subjects of the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Truing Up the Wheels of Tram or Like Cars; and we do hereby declare the following to be a clear and exact description of the invention,.such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use same.

This invention has for its object the truing up of the treads of wheels of tram-cars and the like by a combination of mechanism arranged in such a manner that the treads of the wheels may be operated upon and made circumferentially true without having occasion to remove the wheels and axles from the ordinary axle-boxes of the car, and thus to materially reduce the trouble and cost of truing up the wheel-treads.

, To those persons acquainted with the working of tramways it is well known that the frequent and necessary stoppages to pick up and set down passengers and to avoid collision with the ordinary vehicular traffic and also the descending of gradients necessitates the frequent application of the brake-blocks to retard or stop the motion of the car. In consequence fiat places are worn upon the wheels, with the result of discomfort to the passengers and an additional cost of maintenance of the car and the rails and generally affecting the life of both. With the facilities for removing the flats, as hereinafter described, they will be more frequently removed than hitherto, and thus the inconvenience to passengers will be reduced and the life of both the car and its fittings and the life of the rails will be prolonged,

In describing our invention in detail reference is made to the accompanying sheet of drawings, in which Figure 1 represents an elevation of a portion of a tram-car truck or carriage, showing a wheel resting upon our apparatus ready for having the tread trued up by grinding in a manner as hereinafter described, Fig. 2 is a plan of a portion of our apparatus sufficient to show the construction of the same. Fig. 3 is a detached sectional elevation of one portion of the apparatus through line a Z) of Fig. 2. The other portion of the apparatus for grinding the wheel-tread at the opposite end of the axle is not shown, in order to simplify the drawings, as one is a duplication of the other. Fig. 4 is an end view looking to the right of the apparatus, and Fig. 5 is an end view looking at the opposite end of the apparatus. The last three figures are drawn to an enlarged scale.

In carrying out our invention we form a base-plate A on each side of the apparatus and connect same together in a suitable manner, such as by bars B of such length that the center of the said base-plates are about equal to the gage of the tram-track, (which varies in different localities,) and in further describing our invention reference is only made to the apparatus employed for grinding a wheel on one side of the car, as the apparatus for grinding the wheel at the opposite end of the axle is, as before stated, a duplication, both as regards construction and the mode of operation. Upon the base-plate A are secured two brackets C and D, respectively supporting the grooved pulleys E and F, journaled thereon, the pulleys being placed some distance from each other and of a section to receive the tread and flange of the car-wheel G.

When the flanged car-Wheels, such as indicated by G, commonly used on tram-car tracks have become worn out of true-that is to say, fiat places worn thereon by skid dingand it is desired to true up the treads of same, the car is raised from the tracklevel in any convenient manner such a height as to allow of the introduction of our grinding apparatus under the wheels G. The wheels G are then lowered upon the grooved pulleys E and F, the flanges G of the respective wheels G engaging with the grooves in the pulleys E and F, the journals of the axle of the car still remaining in the ordinary axleboxes H, supported by the horns J of the car, so that the wheels G are supported at three points-that is to say, upon the two grooved pulleys E and F and by the axle-boxes H, between the horns J at each side of the cartruck frame K. Upon the base-plate A is also secureda short gauntree L, fitted withasliding block M; operated by screw N, and upon the sliding block M is a transverse sliding block 0, operated by a serewP, the gauntree Land sliding blocks M and O forming what is generally called a compound rest, having longitudinal and transverse movements.

To the transverse sliding block 0 is secured abracket Q, prepared with a recess into which is placed an emery-block R, arranged with a groove S for the reception of the car-wheel flange G, the curved portion R of the emeryblock being opposite to the tread of the carwheel G.

Our apparatus is especially applicable to electric car'sin which the axle of the car wheels G is coupled to an electric motor in any convenient manner, so that on applying the electric current to the motor driving the wheels G, resting upon the grooved pulleys E and F, the said wheels are rotated upon the grooved pulleys and retained in position by the axleboxes H between the car-truck horns J. It

will thus be seen that on operating the screw N in the direction for moving the emery-block B into contact with the rotating wheel G and applying pressure thereto the curved portion R of the emery-block Rgrinds away the prominent places on the wheel-tread, thereby truing up the same without having to remove the wheels from the car or disturb the axleboxes H from the position occupied between the horns J of the car-truck.

What We claim as our invention is- I Apparatus for truing up the wheels of tramcars by means of grooved emery-blocks R, movable in longitudinal and transverse directions, the car-wheels being supported guided and rotated upon grooved pulleys E, F, without removing the wheels and axles from the ear-truck.

-In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands in the presence of two witnesses.

ISAAC FITCHEW CUTTLER. HUGH SEBASTIAL KING.

Witnesses:

JAMEs ORVETT, JOHN GILL. 

